a
CONTACT

 
-

COMMENTARY
& OPINION

REAL LIFE
INTENSELY
COMPRESSED

select
———
-

2010
TRAVEL

PACKAGES
& PRICES:


BRITAIN & IRELAND:
select
SCOTLAND    
2010 PRICES

UP TO 19% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!



IRELAND       
2010 PRICES

UP TO 12% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!

-  


LONDON        
2010 PRICES

UP TO 19% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!

-
-
ENGLAND       
 
2010 PRICES 

UP TO 19% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!

••
WALES
        
2010 PRICES

UP TO 29% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!

select
Booking Your Trip to
BRITAIN/IRELAND

select

-

select
SCANDINAVIA:
select
DENMARK 
ctNORWAY .   
ctSWEDEN     
ct
2010 PRICES     
UP TO 23% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!

select

Booking Your Trip
to SCANDINAVIA

select

select
NEW ZEALAND:
sa
NORTH ISLAND
SOUTH ISLAND.
2010 PRICES     
UP TO 33% BELOW 2009 LEVELS!
select
Booking Your Trip
to NEW ZEALAND

a
———
a
Got Yours Yet?
ORDER A FREE

'VACATIONS'
CATALOG!

select
Got your 2009 Vacations Catalog yet?

select
——
select
DEALS AND
SPECIAL OFFERS

select

——
select
GET A FREE
TRIP PROPOSAL!

select

——
select
SUBSCRIBE TO:
HomEzine
our

FREE
TRAVEL
NEWSLETTER

sent by e-mail!
Each issue includes
the latest
Deals,
News and Features!
See the

CURRENT ISSUE.

select
———
select
CURRENT
FEATURES:

select
ADVENTURE
select
GOLF
select
LODGING
select
PEOPLE
select

———
select
CONTACT:
HOME AT FIRST
(800) 523-5842

info@homeatfirst.com
a
HOME AT FIRST

 

 

ALL NZ
LOCATIONS

NORTH ISLAND

SOUTH ISLAND

NELSON

WESTLAND

QUEENSTOWN

FIORDLAND

DUNEDIN

LAKE TEKAPO

CHRISTCHURCH

HOME AT FIRST'S
          New Zealand

 
QUEENSTOWN & CENTRAL OTAGO

 


HOME AT FIRST'S
 
KENMARE

Terryglass

A peaceful, stylish refuge overlooking Queenstown, five minutes walk
from the lively center of New Zealand's adventure activity capital.

 

          A multi-day stop at Queenstown ranks high on most Home At First custom-designed, independent, fly-drive itineraries through New Zealand. And why not? Queenstown is the vibrant center of the South Pacific island nation’s most dynamic outdoor lifestyle region. Queenstown attracts athletic, adrenaline-hooked young adults, and fashionable, active, upscale professionals to experience the many pleasures and challenges of this most visually stimulating and physically testing of New Zealand regions.

          Visitors risking overstimulation by Queenstown’s attractions need a tranquil refuge. Home At First’s Queenstown Inn provides comfortable lodgings, a delightful breakfast in the dining room that features panoramic views of the Queenstown and turquoise Lake Wakatipu, and a lively evening wine & canapés social hour in the lounge. All this comes with numerous personal touches of a dedicated staff: activities booking service, laundry service, and luggage storage.
          Located in a quiet residential section just five walking minutes from the fast-beating heart of the town, Queenstown Inn promises extraordinary access to the action from a convenient, convivial, and comfortable

Queenstown's glorious setting on spectacular Lake Wakatipu at the edge of the Southern Alps ensures sensational scenery and an outstanding selection of outdoor activities. Photo of Lake Wakatipu © HOME AT FIRST.
Queenstown's glorious setting on spectacular
Lake Wakatipu at the edge of the Southern
Alps ensures sensational scenery and an
outstanding selection of outdoor activities.
Photo of Lake Wakatipu © HOME AT FIRST

base where guests recharge their batteries
after tackling many of New Zealand’s most active days in some of its most remarkable scenery.
 

 

Quality Standard Accommodations and
Luxury Suites at the Queenstown Inn.
Photos © HOME AT FIRST
 

THE ACCOMMODATIONS—QUALITY STANDARD ROOMS & OPTIONAL LUXURY SUITES: Queenstown Inn is the right place to be for all the right reasons. Its 8 standard rooms (each non-smoking with full bath, TV, and hair dryer) are comfortable and stylish. Its luxury suites (an extra cost upgrade) offer lots of space, kitchens with bar, fireplaces, patio or balcony, and other amenities. Standard rooms are great for individuals and couples. The luxury suites are ideal for families and multiple couples traveling together. All rooms are equipped with wireless internet connections.

 

Open-plan living/dining/kitchen of a luxury suite at Queenstown Inn. Photo © Home At First.
Open-plan living/dining/kitchen of a luxury suite at Queenstown Inn.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

 

COMMON SOCIAL ROOMS WITH A VIEW: Regardless of room accommodation, all guests have use of the common facilities: lounge, laundry, and breakfast room. The breakfast menu offers several delightful choices each day—each one made to order and delicious. The 6PM happy hour in the lounge gives you a chance to meet other guests from around the world, and sample some of New Zealand’s finest wines served with bite-sized canapés. The inn provides off-street private parking, and, for those departing the inn for multi-day trips like the great walks or overnight cruises on the fiords, the


A delightful breakfast menu and internationally flavored happy hour add
to the positive Queenstown Inn experience.

Queenstown Inn provides free luggage storage.

Photos © HOME AT FIRST

 

Louise Kiely, gracious, vivacious hostess at Queenstown Inn. Photo © Home At First.
Louise Kiely, hostess
at Queenstown Inn.

OUTSTANDING HOSTING: Louise Kiely and her staff may the best reason of all to stay at Queenstown Inn. A former tennis champion and runway model, Louise Kiely has become a world-class hostess. She learned the business at skier Jean Claude Killy’s guest house in the French Alps, then in London, in Scotland, in Sydney, and in Auckland before settling down in New Zealand’s outdoor action center, Queenstown. She carefully selects staff who take sincere interest in making guests comfortable and seeing to the success of their visit.

HIGHLY RATED: Queenstown Inn is annually rated one of Home At First's top New Zealand accommodations by guest review.

 

Twilight over Queenstown, with Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountains. Photo NZ Tourism.
                        Twilight over Queenstown, with Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountains.       Photo NZ Tourism
 


THE SETTING:
Several guest rooms as well as the breakfast room and the guest lounge at Queenstown Inn provide a view overlooking Queenstown and across an arm of turquoise Lake Wakatipu to the neighboring mountains that surround both. The inn’s quiet residential surroundings ensure a peaceful night, and the mountain/lake air promises sound sleeping. The 5-minute walk down into central Queenstown leads to the heart of the South Island’s most vibrant and trendy restaurant/shopping/disco quarter.
 

Modern, commercial bungy jumping began right here: the Kawarau Bridge, just outside of Queenstown. NZ Tourism Photo.
Queenstown: New Zealand's favorite jumping off place.

THE LOCATION: Queenstown is in the heart of the mountain and lake playground of New Zealand’s South Island. For decades it has been a magnet for adventure tourism. Queenstown has long been the epicenter of extreme sports. Commercial bungy jumping was invented at the nearby Kawarau Bridge in 1988 by the extreme sports legend A. J. Hackett. Jet boating—that other New Zealand extreme export—became an extreme sport with mass appeal on Queenstown’s Shotover River in 1970.
 
Modern, commercial bungy jumping began right here:
the Kawarau Bridge, just outside of Queenstown.
NZ Tourism Photo

 
          Why Queenstown? Great weather, for one. Dramatic mountains, wilderness, and long, navigable lakes abound here. Shallow rivers full of fish and the occasional gold nugget cut through narrow canyons full of danger and challenge. The region had a Wild West attitude that locals discovered would lure tourists. All the trendy shops and restaurants have done little to tame Queenstown—the place remains the extreme adventure capital of New Zealand, and perhaps the world.

The Shotover Jet in action -- storming through its namesake river canyon just outside of Queenstown. Photo NZ Tourism.
The Shotover Jet in action—storming through
its namesake river canyon just outside of
                             Queenstown.      
Photo NZ Tourism
 

   

The steamship Earnslaw preparing to depart its Queenstown mooring for a cruise on Lake Wakatipu. Photo © Home At First.

ACTIVITIES: Louise Kiely and her staff personally see to it that all of her guests enjoy their stay at the inn and in Queenstown. Want a cruise on the lake? Fancy a spa at a fancy resort? Can’t live without bungy jumping? Looking for a round of golf on New Zealand’s most scenic course? Ask Louise.
 
The steamship Earnslaw preparing
to depart its Queenstown mooring
for a cruise on Lake Wakatipu.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST

   

MORE ACTIVITIES: Dinner recommendations? Easy. Shopping? Hiking? Jet boating? Skiing? Climbing? Scenic flights to Milford Sound? Ask Louise. No one knows more about Queenstown or is better known in Queenstown. We submit she is the queen of the place, a one-woman Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau—better, there’s no bureaucracy at Queenstown Inn. Don’t fail to meet her over drinks and nibbles at happy hour. She’s buying!

AVAILABILITY: For current availability information,
call
HOME AT FIRST at (800) 523-5842, or contact us by e-mail at: info@homeatfirst.com.

 
A popular candidate for most scenic hole in New Zealand golf, the 5th hole at Queenstown (Kelvin Heights) Golf Club is framed by Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountains. Photo © Home At First.
A popular candidate for most scenic hole in
New Zealand golf, the 5th hole at Queenstown
(Kelvin Heights) Golf Club is framed by Lake
 Wakatipu and the Remarkables Mountains.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

 

— HOME AT FIRST —

Learn more about HOME AT FIRST's travel program to: NEW ZEALAND.

100% Pure Kiwi Specialist 2010 - Tested and Trusted by NZ Tourism.

HOME AT FIRST IS A DESIGNATED "KIWI SPECIALIST"
TOUR OPERATOR BY THE NEW ZEALAND TOURISM BOARD.